Tennis|The Finn knocked down Italy’s Franco Agamenon in the opening round match.
A tennis player Otto Virtanen started the singles qualifiers of the Wimbledon grand slam tournament with a thrilling play, which eventually turned into Finnish joy. Virtanen defeated Italy in the opening round match Franco Agamemnon by 6–7 (6–8), 6–2, 7–6 (10–6).
In the third set, Virtanen saved four match points with his own serve shift. The Finn was also down 2–4 in the tiebreaker that ended the match before his final game.
Virtanen, ranked 149 in the world singles rankings, will face Switzerland in the 2nd qualifying round Alexander Ritschardin, which is ranked 178th. A place in the main series of the value tournament opens up with three qualifying wins.
Virtanen, who turned 23 on Midsummer’s Eve, has played in the main series of grand slam tournaments twice, last fall at the US Open and at the end of May at the French Open. Last year, Virtanen’s path to the 3rd qualifying round was blocked at Wimbledon.